Disclaimer: I do not own anything of monetary value, nor am I profiting off of this.
A/N: A heartfelt thank you to: BriarX,Loser that is me, Noir Lime Canuto, and HopelessRomanitc31; you guys are the BEST, be happy.
The pretty summer weather that had taunted students as the beginning of the semester was nowhere to be seen, replaced by the normal drearily damp days of English lore and history alike. The air had a bit of a bite to it, a man from the radio declaring it was currently 15 degrees Celsius and a good chance of precipitation, making for a very wet Saturday.
Draco distractedly listened to the forecast coming from his cheap little clock, his mind was a bit muddled as of late. Though, it was understandable; there was class work, leisure work, domestic work, and a great deal of emotional work that he was attempting to juggle all at once.
His smokey gray eyes stared thoughtfully out his living room window from his spot on the couch, a half drank cup of coffee warming his hands. Absentmindedly he swept a few wayward strands of blonde hair out of his face, it was getting too long to gel properly, but not long enough to pull back. Not that he thought he could bear to look that much like his late father. There was an irrational fear that a physical resemblance would eventually evolve into a mental one as well.
Personally he felt that this shaggy care-free hair only helped complete his look of casual middle class college student. The jury was still out on his feelings of actually being a middle class college student though. At least he did not look as visibly incongruous as he felt. Appearances were more than enough at the moment.
He was trying to iron out some of his mental wrinkles before he went and saw Pansy in a couple of hours. So far he had accomplished very little, his thoughts kept wandering through random memories, choosing to stroll about leisurely instead of work diligently to straighten out some of his thoughts.
Images of a younger Pansy drifted serenely through his head. He was mildly upset that the majority of memories he had of them together were tinted with darkness, a cloud of smog polluting their time together. He wondered about the Pansy that Granger knew, the one who did not have to take sides on blood status, the one who had grown up, fallen in love, and became a mother.
A flash of regret echoed across his cloudy eyes; he wish he had been around to see his Pansy turn into Hermione's Pansy. Logically speaking, he knew that had he been present that all parties involved would not have turned out the same. Had she found him that day, would things have been different?
Would he have gone with her? Would he have abandoned her? What if they had been killed while trying to escape? Would Hermione still be the woman she is today? Or would she have stayed with Potter, Weasley, and her prejudices? Would anything have changed that fateful day?
All things considered, his current situation was actually one of the better scenarios. He was not dead or imprisoned, nor was he trapped in a living hell. Granger was not too bad after one grew accustomed to her rather eclectic philosophy on life, once that was established her actions and words did not seem as nerve grating as they once had.
That, and she was not too hard on the eyes either. Not that he felt attracted to her, just that he felt she was in her own right attractive. A fine line that had more to do with personal tastes than physical features, mind you.
It had been two weeks since he had dinner at Hermione's flat but the memory was still fresh. His subconscious had taken a liking to replaying the events that took place that fateful Friday, the raw emotions she had hid so well. But try as she might, she could not hide her true feelings from Draco, he was a Malfoy after all. Trained since birth to read the small glitches in a persons body language and ignore the words that came from their mouths.
Mouths could lie, even pretty little mouths like Granger's. Her body language could not.
He did not miss the desperate longing that would subtly appear whenever she mentioned Harry or Ron. Even her disgust at their actions was overrode by sorrow. There was no regret that he could detect, just a genuine emotion that fervently wished things had turned out better.
The idea of Hermione Granger was an intriguing one. She essentially stood for all that was right and good in the world, hell, she abandoned her best friends for her morals. And truly, he decided, that is what it had come down to that day.
Hermione Granger's entire purpose in the war, other than staying alive, was to stand up for her morals and beliefs. Killing Pansy was the antithesis of that, and her already worn mental stability that day probably could not handle the idea that the people she was fighting along side, the people she loved, were so willing to violate those morals, her morals. Adding to the mix was the fact that Pansy was displaying the loyalty and devotion that Hermione held for her friends, which was ingrained in her moral code. In that one moment in time the tables were turned and it was a Gryffindor betraying her moral code and a Slytherin upholding it. To the outside world it would seem that Granger had switched sides, but she was the only one who held steadfast in her conviction and the situation was so perfectly reversed it was not likely that the other players even noticed their role changes.
And so Granger, in a show of righteous anger, that she used to pulled off so well if memory served him, fled from her friends' flawed moral code more than from her friends themselves. He wondered if she knew this. He wondered if Potter and Weasley or even Pansy knew this. He actually wished he was there to witness the entire event. If he had been able to work out this much just from hearing it secondhand, image all he could puzzle out if he saw it play out before his very eyes.
Draco Malfoy did not know as many things as Granger did, he was not sure if he ever wanted to, but one thing Draco Malfoy knew very well was how to analyze people. And Hermione Granger was his current specimen. And what a pretty specimen she was.
The meeting that would have taken place yesterday was postponed due to the amount of time he would be spending with her today, she had taken pity on him and declared that two consecutive days would probably drive him back to his death eater ways, which was not something she was overly fond of. He silently agreed, to which part is anybodies guess.
They had met briefly last Friday, but it was a quick, cordial meeting that did not reveal much to either. Well, that is not entirely true, now that he thought of it. Hermione seemed rather distant from him. Once again she hid it well, only her body language and her eyes gave it away. He was rather impressed with her ability to sound well vested and connected to the present, but that Friday her thoughts had been elsewhere and she did not feel like discussing it.
He had refrained from asking her simply because it seemed like asking Granger questions was like willingly jumping into freezing cold water without knowing how to swim. The entire experience is mildly traumatizing but the knowledge gleaned from it would certainly last a lifetime. He had not felt like struggling to keep his head above water that night. If he was not careful he could easily drown in her.
He wondered when she would stop being complacent and start digging into his personal life; up to this point she had let him ask all the questions. But he was not sure if she had answered all his questions because they involved him or simply because she did not feel like hiding the truth from him.
A loud 'pop' sounded a few feet from him, but he continued gazing out the window, unconcerned. Apparently he had been thinking longer than planned, and of Granger mostly, he was not sure if this wasted his time or made it productive. Her heard her enter his kitchen and rustle about until he heard the clinking of a mug being set on the counter. She was helping herself to coffee, the mug in his hands had turned cold despite being held. A few moments passed and he heard her feet patter over to him.
He felt her weight sink the cushion of the couch next to him, she was not indecently close, the couch was just rather small and he could feel the light contact from the left side of her body, she was only just brushing against him and truly he did not even mind sharing the couch with her. Nor did he really mind her making herself at home with the coffee. He wondered when he had gotten so comfortable with her presence.
The faint smell of vanilla drifted off of his couch partner, mixing nicely with the strong coffee aroma. Perhaps he would keep her around simply for her aromatic qualities. He mentally snorted at the idea, never in the history of life had there been such a know it all air freshener, it would be quite a bother if that was the only reason he kept her around.
With a deep sigh he torn his eyes from the dreary clouds that blanketed England that day. When he though of visiting Pansy he had imagined the weather would be cheerful and warm, like he wanted the reunion to be. It might be a bad omen that it was so depressing outside, he hoped that the meeting would not turn out the same as the weather. He truly had missed his Slytherin friend in his own way.
He turned his attention to the warm body next to him, amusement trickling over him as he took in the sight of Granger. She was in a pair of dark jeans and a rather comfy looking gray hoodie with the words 'Oxford' written in green across the front. She had a pair of black tennies on with a sliver of her green socks showing around her ankles. Her hair had been pulled up into a high pony tail and there were no traces of make up that he could see. It was rather interesting to see Granger dressed so casually, he had only seen her in her teaching outfits, this casual look gave her a softer appeal.
But the funny part was the expression that had possessed her face. She was staring intently at the coffee, looking at it as though it was the love of her life. Her dark chocolate eyes had a dewy quality as she gazed lovingly at the liquid. He wondered what she was seeing in it but said nothing.
She took a sip, closing her eyes and savoring the bitter taste in her mouth. It was then that he noticed she looked extremely tired.
"Rough night?" He asked softly, more due to the close proximity than from genuine concern. Sure, he was curious, but lack of sleep was something everyone suffered from at times, and generally nothing too overly worrisome.
"Mhmm, nightmares." She said distractedly, focusing on taking another sip. He let silence take over after her answer. Logically he was not surprised that Granger would suffer from nightmares, he was there during the majority of her traumatizing experiences, and nightmares were understandable.
What he did find surprising was that he never pictured Hermione Granger as the type to get nightmares, she always seemed so strong and self assured, the idea of a weak Granger was something he could not quite imagine. For being such a small woman she sure had a big presence.
He briefly wondered if her nightmares had returned because he had, or if she still suffered them regularly despite the amount of time that went by.
She finished her cup and placed it on his coffee table before sitting back and letting her head rest against the back of his couch, eyes closed. He arched an eyebrow at her despite her temporary lack of vision. The picture of Hermione Granger lounging on his couch, next to him, and seemingly at rest was even more amusing than her love sick stares at coffee.
He glanced at the watch on his wrist, he still had an hour or so before they were supposed to leave.
"You are early." was all he said, feeling a little better knowing that he had not wasted as much of the day staring out the window as he had previously thought.
She mumbled something about not wanting to be alone, eyes still closed, half asleep. Had it been ten years earlier, Draco would have literally been giddy with evil intentions at the prospect of the Gryffindor mudblood falling asleep on the couch next to him. That being said, he was still mentally laughing at the idea, almost a decade of maturity later.
That is, until he felt her head loll to the side and come to rest on his shoulder. All mental laughter stopped as he unconsciously went rigid, unsure what to do. He could shove her off of him, as per his first response, but he did not want to deal with a grumpy Granger for the rest of the day, especially considering the stakes.
He could also try and maneuver himself out from under her but that would just make her slump over and probably wake up, which would not be too bad, as she probably would not remember falling asleep against him; it was certainly a viable option.
Or, he could just let her be.
They still had a bit of time before they had to be anywhere and she was not hurting anything by sleeping against him, it did not look like she was going to start drooling at the very least. The small contact was actually quite comforting, as was the heat he felt from their close proximity. My how he had missed having a warm body next to him, even if it was just platonic.
Resigning himself to his not so terrible fate he got a little more comfortable before he too closed his eyes, soaking up the peaceful feeling of having a companion. A small smile drifted over his pale lips as he slipped into a light sleep.
The sound of a telly ringing loudly had both occupants of the couch jumping from the sudden noise. Granger jerkily grabbed her cell phone from her hoodie pocket before answering somewhat groggily.
"Hullo?" A few seconds later her eyes widened dramatically a she whipped her head to look at a still sleepy Malfoy. A dark blush crept onto her cheeks as she realized she had just used Draco Malfoy as a pillow, of all things. If he still had his wand she would be dead, that being said, it is a good thing he had not progressed too much with wandless magic. Her life was safe for the moment at least.
She cleared her throat before ripping her eyes away from his and responding to the person on the other end. "Sorry Pans, I took an impromptu nap, I will be there in a couple of minutes." She quickly said 'goodbye' and hung up before standing and stretching, raising her hands above her head and popping her chest out to feel the satisfying cracks of her back.
"You look like a cat when you do that." Draco said randomly, still clearing sleep from his mind. He did not seem to mind their little nap together so Hermione figured she should not make a big deal of it either. It was just a nap after all. Hah, way to play down the fact that she had just fallen asleep against a man who had on numerous occasions physically and mentally hurt her.
Ignoring his comment and her train of thought she offered her hand to him. "We better get going, Pansy's waiting."
Any remaining sleep was quickly banished and a feeling of fearful anticipation took hold, not saying anything he resolutely nodded his head and stood before placing his hand in hers.
They appeared out of thin air into a dark, somewhat smelly alley. Draco was still steadying himself as he felt Hermione begin to walk away, her hand slipping out of his as she did so. Side long apparition always had been a bit of a bitch. The feel of another persons magic overpowering his own was disgruntling.
He followed her small form shortly after his mind regained equilibrium. She led them a few meters down the street before stopping in front of an up scale cafe. From what he could tell he was somewhere in Birmingham, which made sense since it was a midpoint between Oxford and Wales.
"Wait here please." She said, smiling somewhat nervously at his emotionless face, she did not miss the twinge of apprehension what swam in his smokey eyes. Deciding he would rather not stand around and look the fool he went and lounged on the bus bench in front of the cafe. If they could not recognize him from behind he could only conclude that they must be blind, no one could miss his hair. A few moments passed as he watched the muggles of Birmingham go about their day.
He heard them before he saw them.
"Honestly Hermione, what is going on? First you are late, which only happens when you are deathly sick, and then you do not want to stay in our favorite coffee shop. Are you feeling well?" It was the voice of Pansy Parkinson, well, no, Pansy would have taken her husbands last name; he wondered what it was. She sounded a lot less hateful than he remembered, and though her tone was still a bit annoyed he could detect little lilts of concern.
"I told you, it. is. a. surprise." Granger said emphatically. Some part of his pride did not like being called 'it' but he supposed if she called him 'he' Pansy would get overly curious.
"Is it, a he?" Never mind, he forgot how boy crazy she had been, of course she would think her surprise was a boy, despite her being married. Way to go Pans.
"Perhaps." Was all he heard Granger say before there was a loud, happy squeal from Pansy. "You got yourself a boyfriend?" Her excitement at this idea let him to conclude that Hermione did not, in fact, date, nor had she in a long time it appeared.
By this time they were almost directly behind him and he was slightly surprised that Pansy had not zeroed in on his hair the moment she walked out the door. But then again you do not really see things unless you are looking.
"I don't know, Draco, you're not my boyfriend, are you?" Granger asked him casually, acting for all the world as though she truly did not know. Funny girl, that Granger.
He turned his head to look over his shoulder and glanced at the two girls. "Come now, you both know me better than that." He drawled lazily, playing along. He watched as Pansy's dark blue eyes widened in shock before promptly filling with tears and her bottom lip started trembling.
He quickly stood and rounded the bench, the urge to comfort her as familiar as it had been all those years ago. What the emotional Slytherin did next was not something Draco and Hermione expected. They had both assumed there would be tears, and a couple hugs, mostly between Draco and Pansy, despite his known dislike for personal space invasion, but it would appear they had underestimated her. Then again an emotional Slytherin is a bit of an oxymoron, so anything could have happened.
Due to the close proximity Pansy had somehow snaked one arm around Hermione and the other around Draco, pulling them into an unexpected group hug. For all intents and purposes it would appear that the poor girl was having an emotional break down clinging to her friends on the very public streets of Birmingham.
"You found him, oh my god, Hermione, you found him!" She rambled in between sobs, trapping her friends in a very strong hug. Draco and Hermione shared a rather uncomfortable glance, unsure of how to react to being so close to each other while awake, Hermione had an arm wrapped around Pansy's waist and Draco had one around her shoulder and they were trying hard not to touch each other, but it was awkward standing with their arms limply squished together.
Draco did not want to remember this moment as awkward or strained, besides Granger had already fallen asleep on him today, and considering all she had done for him up to this point he could suffer through a hug.
He muttered "What the hell." under his breath before snaking his other arm around Granger's tiny waste and pulling her tight. In for a penny, in for a pound, they say.
The surprised smile on her face was attractive in a dangerous way, it was so sweet and innocent. She wrapped her arm snugly around his midsection before closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder, she had missed being held. Harry, Ron and she had always been on the touchy feely side, despite all the years gone by, she missed being wrapped up in somebody's arms; even if they were the arms of Draco Malfoy.
Draco smirked to himself, he felt like an American pimp with two pretty girls clinging to him in public. Although if he remembered right, they were not usually clinging to the other girl or crying...but those were minor details.
Pansy quieted herself after a few minutes, feeling slightly silly for showing emotion, much less in public. She pulled back only slightly, still keeping within the circle of her friends' arms, and took in the sight of Hermione Granger resting her head against Draco Malfoy's shoulder, her eyes were still closed and there was a small smile on her face. Draco's arm was securely wrapped around her waist, his hand resting on her hip, the look in his eyes as he looked down at the woman in his arms was veiled, but Pansy could see a glimmer of happiness shining in them.
A slightly wicked grin formed on her face as her Slytherin mind started plotting, it was rather obvious anyway. She did not bother hiding her grin as his attention flickered back over to her, his smoky eyes narrowed in displeasure and he quickly extracted himself from the two girls. Honestly, he could not even appreciate physical contact without it being blown out of proportion.
Hermione looked slightly dazed and blinked a couple of times at the sudden loss of body heat and support. A small blush rose to her cheeks as she turned her attention on Pansy and studiously ignored the man who was a short distance away. She gave Pansy a proper hug before pulling back, but not letting go and saying smugly.
"Of course I found him, I am Hermione Granger, I make it a personal mission to reunite all of my former enemies." Draco wanted to roll his eyes at her antics.
"But truthfully Pansy, he actually found me, just showed up in class one day." She said much more demurely. Pansy's eyes had not left Draco's.
"Is that so?" She asked slowly, he could practically see the wheels turning in her head, which was never a good thing. Pansy, while she liked to play dumb for the masses, was a rather cunning and ambitious witch; it was one of the reasons he got on with her so well. Like him, she usually got what she wanted, come hell or high water.
Hermione finally released the Slytherin from her grasp, she had truly missed her friend. "Mhmm," Granger replied, seemingly oblivious to the dangerous look in her friends eyes, blind idiot. "I know we usually sit and talk, but I was thinking that today you and Draco catch up; I was hoping to go see Andre and Rylynn, I miss that little terror." She joked happily. The light in her eyes was something he had never seen before, not even back at Hogwarts when she was apart of the Golden Trio.
Draco's dull silver eyes took in the sight of Hermione Granger interact with Pansy and realized that she had been better at hiding her feelings than he had previously thought. He had thought that she was a generally happy person, content with her life and her place in it; it would appear that he was wrong.
If this was Granger happy then the one he was accustomed to was very close to miserable. Pansy's eyes found his and she must have seen what he was thinking because hers softened a little as she glanced at her friend before returning her eyes to him.
"I think that would be a wonderful idea Hermione, poor Andre is stuck with daddy duty today, and you know how well he handles that." Pansy said, glancing up at the sky, watching some memory or another float by. Granger's lips twitched up into a cunning smirk and a dangerous light gleamed in her chocolate eyes, a queer look pass over Draco's face, had she always been able to look so...Slytherin ?
"I think I will stop and get Rylynn some candy before I go visit..." She said somewhat wickedly, one step short of cackling malevolently, most likely planning to add to the poor man's chaos instead of bringing peace. With that purpose firmly in her mind she walked off, swaying her hips a bit more than usual.
Pansy watched Draco watch her leave. "What have you done to Granger, Pans?" He questioned without turning. There was a puzzled look on his handsome face and a calculating look in his light gray eyes. Pansy just grinned in response. In all honesty she did not do a thing to Hermione Granger, turned out she had always had a twisted mind, it was just hidden behind the fact that she used her twistedness for good instead of evil. But she would not tell Draco that, let him wonder. The more he thought about Hermione the easier he would be to manipulate.
"She would have made a great Slytherin, don't you think?" She asked him as they watched the Gryffindor princess wander out of sight. At this he did turn and look her straight in her eyes before somberly replying. "No, she was the only reason Potter and Weasley got half as far as they did. If it was not for Granger we would all be serving Voldemort or dead."
A bit of light left Pansy's eyes and Draco mentally kicked himself, way to be a prick. "I never thought of it that way." she said softly. A few tense seconds passed before she shook her head and smiled brightly at him before grabbing his hand and saying. "Come on Draco, we have some catching up to do." She mimicked the way Hermione had said his name, letting him know that it had not slipped by unnoticed. Damn that Granger.
A couple hours later they found themselves still chatting away in a back booth of the fancy cafe. Draco had tried to keep the conversation focused on them and their lives, but everything they talked about seem to lead back to Hermione Granger in one way or another. At first he was dead positive Pansy was doing it to be annoying, but about halfway through their chat he realized that Pansy could not help it.
Granger had literally given the girl her life back, helped her through the war, helped her get over Draco, helped her understand it was 'okay' to love Andre, helped her through what sounded like a beastly pregnancy, and then helped her raise her daughter, who was now going on four.
"Rylynn gets so excited when Hermione visits, she runs around the house screaming 'Aunty 'nee!' and she only calms down after Hermione picks her up and tosses her in the air for a bit. There was this one time they were playing and Hermione tossed 'Lynn a little higher than usual and 'Lynn freaked out, which threw her magic haywire and she ended up getting stuck midair, just out of Hermione's reach. Oh it was hilarious! Rylynn was screaming bloody murder and Hermione was close to hysterical as she tried to get her down. Andre and I could only laugh, it was too funny. She called us worthless friends for not helping her." There was mirth in Pansy's dark blue eyes as she shared some of her life. Draco would have liked to have witnessed that as well, the idea of Hermione Granger not knowing what to do was a novel one.
"You know it is okay to talk about her right?" Pansy asked softly, looking in his eyes. She could tell he was uncomfortable talking about his former enemy.
He sighed before running his hand through his hair. "I do not get it Pans, how could Granger go from hating us to being your best friend?" Pansy opened her mouth but closed it for a moment, he was not done talking.
"Yeah, I get that she saved your life, that she abandoned her friend for you, and I get that she did it mostly because of her morals and somewhere along the way she and you became friends. What I do not get is how Potter and Weasley let her stay away." His voice was gruff, as it often was when he did not understand something, or someone. He was a notorious control freak.
Pansy cast her eyes on the dark cherry table separating them, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. "There are a few things that Hermione went threw that you do not know of, I am not sure if I should be the one to tell you, but I doubt she will. Oh it was terrible." There was that phrase again, once again connected to Potter and Weasley. Draco had never liked the two, but the fact that they had elicited the same response from one girl he deeply cared about and another that...well, he supposed he cared a little, he did not want her to die at the very least, was only adding to his dislike of the two male Gryffindors.
"After she returned me to my family she promptly fainted, from exhaustion we figured, and we were partly right. It took her a week to wake up, which was in and of itself terrifying, she was so still we thought she had died a few times, and more than once my mum checked her for lingering spells. When she finally woke up we realized that something more than exhaustion had happened to her. At first she did not want to tell us, she kept apologizing that she could not trust us due to our past connections. It was not until the ministry showed up at our door demanding the arrest of Hermione Granger and myself that her secret was let out of the bag."
She paused before glancing in his eyes, looking guilty, as though she really should not be telling him this, before continuing.
"She heard the commotion and came to see what was happening, I think she caught the gist of the situation because she stepped around my father and haughtily asked the ministry official 'What the bloody hell she was under arrest for?' had it not been so serious I would have laughed, she was practically breathing fire and the official was so flabbergasted that such a short little girl was giving him lip. When he stuttered something about aiding with the escape of a death eater she flat out laughed in his face, it was a scary laugh, one that only an insane person could make. I remember it so clearly. She practically spat her words at him saying 'What death eater, you mean that girl over there, the one who does not have the dark mark on her arm, the one who stayed out of the whole bloody mess, the one that Harry James Potter was going to implicate to the ministry, the one that Ronald Bilius Weasley was going to kill just because she was a Slytherin? Because if that is why you are here you can go fuck yourself and your precious justice!" She shoved him hard as she began storming out the door and into the yard."
"The bloody idiot, took out his wand and shot a spell at her, he missed since it was just a warning shot, but I am positive he regrets that to this day. Oh, you should have seen it. She went stiff as a board before turning very slowly and staring him dead in the eye. I swear he about pissed himself. If he thought he was just making a routine arrest on a child he was quickly set straight. Nothing about Hermione seemed childish. She was terrifying. All she did was stare but I think everyone could feel the danger rolling off of her in waves."
"The official tried to reason with her, saying that since she was unarmed he would not attack her if she came quietly, which was stupid because nothing about her seemed quiet. She quirked her eyebrow and sent him a smirk, one that you would have been proud of, before casually asking 'Oh, is that so?' I think the official knew he was in deep trouble but he just gulped and nodded his head stupidly. What happened next almost made me wet myself."
"She lazily lifted her arm and flicked her wrist once and his his wand came exploding out of his hand, not just flying, exploding, there were literally sparks. Her lips never moved, and she truly did not have her wand. Oh it was like watching something from a legend, a terrifying legend that was happening in your front yard, but still a legend. She held his wand in her hand and told him 'Now you are unarmed, if you leave quietly, I will not attack you. If you choose to put up a fight...well, you will find there are scarier things than Voldemort and death eaters.' and just like that she tossed his wand on the ground in front of his feet. He stood there as if he had just seen a ghost for the first time. She must not have liked that response because she hissed 'leave!' and he fled, only stopping long enough to pick up his wand."
Draco felt a shiver crawl down his spine as he imagined that Hermione. He saw the awe that was still in Pansy's eyes, and he briefly wondered why Granger had not been the one to kill Voldemort, she certainly seemed powerful enough.
"Once he left she just sank to her knees and started bawling, mum and dad were not sure how to react to the display they had just witnessed. None the less my mum went and tried to comfort her but she wrenched herself away and started screaming that she was a freak, a bloody freak of nature, and that she was no better than Voldemort, that she did not want this power, and then she started scratching at the skin on her arms wailing that she could feel it, she could feel it squirming under her skin."
There were tears in Pansy's eyes as she relived that day. "We had to give her a calming draught, but even then she was not calm. She truly looked as though she thought she was a vile freak. It was so sad. The ministry official came back week later accompanied by several aurors, but she went peacefully. They seemed to have forgotten about me in light of her tantrum, I still wonder if she meant for that to happen, even half crazed and depressed she was brilliant. One of the aurors informed us that her trial would be the next day."
"Apparently her little display of power had the ministry concerned that she would be the next Voldemort. She was tried before any captured death eaters were even processed. We went to the trial, I think my mum and dad felt a deep connection to her, she had saved me twice now, at her own pain. I went because I have never met anyone like Hermione Granger, she did not seem real. The Granger I remembered from school was nothing like the Hermione I saw during those weeks. Granger had always been smart and studious, a goody-two-shoes who had them planted firmly on the ground. Hermione seemed so much more than that, she was wild, and I could literally feel the magic radiating from her if I stood close enough. She seemed so at risk of just losing her mind and floating away. But the person we saw at the trial we neither Granger or Hermione."
"It was perhaps a mix of both, but Merlin was she wicked. The interrogators did not stand a chance, everything they accused her was ripped to shreds under her biting logic. She was polite but only in speech, everyone could tell that she was pissed. And then Weasley testified against her. I thought she was going to lose it. When she was questioned about his testimony both the interrogator and Weasley were blushing with shame from her answers. I have learned several things from that and the biggest one being that Hermione Granger is always right, there is no argument that could not be picked apart by her in such a way that she will appear right."
"As per custom they let her have a closing statement, which was in hindsight, stupid on their part, but they would have appeared unfair if she had not received it. I do not know if she composed the speech or if she truly felt that way, but I suspect the last. I can still hear her words echo, I replayed int constantly for several days using my dad's pensive. She stood calmly and addressed everyone politely, even Weasley and Potter, the emotion in her voice was disabling.
'My name is Hermione Granger, I am a muggle born to some and a mudblood to others, but I always thought that I would just be Hermione to my friends. I always thought that my friends would be there to help me make sure everything was right, and that we could fix whatever was wrong, and I truly believed that. I have spent every year since I was eleven fighting against Voldemort, I have sacrificed both a normal muggle and a normal wizarding to support my beliefs and my friends. My beliefs that every magical being had the right to embrace their place in the magical community and my friends Harry and Ron who have proven to the world that good will prevail. They are hero's who deserve to be remembered as such. You will have to forgive me but I could not let them be remembered as murderers. Which is what they would have been had I not taken Ms. Parkinson's side. Mr. Weasley was not in his right mind, his brother had just been killed by a death eater who was closely associated with the house of Slytherin. The final battle was horrendous beyond words, and to see your brother die before your eyes is beyond feeling, it is beyond rational thought.'
'To my knowledge, both He and Harry fought the battle without the aid of the dark arts, and to let Ron come so far to lose it all with two irrevocable words was beyond inhuman. He saw a dirty death eater, part of the same group of murderers that felled his brother, begging for the life of another murderer. It is no wonder he lost what little grip he had on himself. But when I saw Pansy Parkinson down on her knees balling her eyes out and pleading for help from the only people she thought would be able to, I did not see a death eater begging for the life of a murderer. I saw me, down on my knees, pleading for the lives of Harry and Ron. Willing let a mad man point his wand in my face, if only he would save them, my friends, the people who are closer than family to me, so close they are practically apart of me. I realized at that moment that we were all just children, not even out of school, caught up in something so much bigger and meaner than we ever imagined. I realized that Pansy knew this all along, but still she made one last self sacrificing attempt to save her friend from the cruel hands of fate.'
'And so, for the sake of the wizarding world, for the sake of Harry and Ron, and for the sake of all those unfortunate souls who were born into dark families and raised to hate I had to stop him. I was not betraying the light, I was not aiding the death eaters, I was sticking to my morals, I was protecting my friends from themselves, and I was saving a heartbroken girl from dying an undeserving death. If you still believe me to be a traitor who deserves to be punished I will have no choice but to accept my fate, I will go gladly knowing that my simple act of defiance has saved at least one person from death and two from tormented consciences. I consider all three people my friend, and I will gladly die for them.'
Pansy paused, there were a few tears sliding down her face. "I think I fell in love with her at that moment. I never wanted to let Hermione out of my life. She was so kind and generous, and she cared...she cared so much." Pansy sniffled a little before giving him a watery smile.
"They found her innocent of all charges and apologized profusely, but she did not want to hear it, marching out of the ministry with her head held high. Potter and Weasley came running back but she would not take them. She was still at my house when they decided to apologize, I had followed her down to see who was visiting her. I was standing next to her fully expecting her to abandon me for them, but I was wrong again. When they said they were so sorry, that they had not been thinking and that they could not understand why she would protect me, they were hurt and angry, they felt abandoned, but she had set them straight, they said. They knew they were wrong, they even apologized to me. They thought a simple heartfelt apology would be enough. But it was not."
A small smug smile fitted on Pansy's glossed lips. "She told them that while she was glad they finally realized she was not an evil death eater, she would not be able to accept their apology or their friendship for a long while. She looped her arm through mine and pulled me closer, she was shaking terribly. She was crying when she told them that she was sorry but their actions have consequences and that losing her friendship was one of them, at least for a while."
Draco's eyebrows had found a new home somewhere up in his fringe and he let out a low whistle. How the hell had he missed out on all that drama? "So that was why she left the wizarding world? They tried to kill you, frame her, and then expected her to accept an apology all hunky dory?"
Pansy let a small chuckle at the 'hunky dory' wording, but nodded her head all the same. Her dark blue eyes peered in his smokey gray ones. "I know you may not like Hermione, but I truly love her like a sister, and Slytherin be damned, I am not afraid to say it." Her voice was both sentimental and threatening. He did not miss the warning and quickly held his hands up in surrender.
"I get it, Pansy, I honestly do. But I have one question, and pardon me if it sounds rude, but why would she choose to stay in contact with you all these years? She saved the you, cleared her name, and shunned her friends in the name of morality, but morality says nothing about becoming inextricable from your life." His words had a bit of bite to them, but it was more from being threatened than anything else, and she knew that.
"I used to ask myself that a lot, but after awhile I realized it was kind of obvious. Hermione Granger had spent the entirety of her wizarding life connected at the hip with her friends, she was used to having a support system and a family away from home, when she had to cut herself away from that she needed someone to fill the void, and I am more than happy she chose me. I have no delusions that I could ever fill the shoes of Potter and Weasley, she still misses them terribly, after all these years, but Hermione still needs a friend." Her voice was soft and sad, wanting to be for Hermione all that Hermione had been for her.
Draco found it a bit unsettling that his former housemate had grown so attached to the little Gryffindor princess. Deciding to switch gears a little he spoke. "So how much about me have you told Granger?" He sounded suspicious and was giving her a bit of a glare. The man loved his privacy.
She gave him a knowing smirk before teasingly replying. "Only enough to make her curious." Draco wanted to bang his head on the hard table but thought better of it in the public eye.
"Bloody Hell Pansy! Granger could not suppress her insatiable curiosity with the threat of Voldemort hanging over her, she is going to rip me to shreds." He complained childishly, studiously ignoring the little part of him that was excited that Granger found him intriguing, must be a rogue bit of pride, yes, that must be it.
"That was my plan all along." She said happily, Draco wanted to throttle her, Pansy made many plans, and while a few of them turned our terrible the majority of them turned out perfect. He was not sure which was more terrifying.
"I hate you." He grumbled to his Slytherin counterpart.
"I know, but you love me too. You cannot deny it any longer mister. You, Draco Malfoy, cannot help but love me!" She said dramatically, acting for all the world as if she was not making a public scene. Both were too focused on each other to notice a figure approach, Draco was busy trying to set Pansy ablaze with his eyes alone and Pansy was busy making doe eyes at him and pretending to swoon.
"Tsk, tsk. I knew it was a bad idea to leave you two alone, now I have to go break the sad news to Andre, and I promised him this would not happen." Hermione's voice had both of their heads snapping in her direction. She was grinning at the two old friends, happy they were getting back to their old habits.
She slid into the booth beside Pansy looking tired, but happy. In what appeared a rather practiced motion she slouched down in her seat and leaned heavily against the other woman, her head resting against Pansy's should in an eerily familiar manner.
"Do you make a habit of using all your Slytherin acquaintances as pillows?" It was out of his mouth before he really knew he was even speaking. Pansy's eyes widened as if to say 'Oh, really?' and a devious smirk fitted her plump lips.
Granger, for her part, turned a very pretty pink and stuck her tongue out at him childishly. Must be an after affect of babysitting.
"What have you two been doing, hmm? And why have I not been told?" Pansy asked sounding a bit offended at being left out of the loop. Draco could not decided who he wanted to hurt more, him or Pansy.
"We have not been doing anything improper, if that is what you are implying. And you have not been informed because it is not your business." Granger said in a prim voice. And that would have suited Draco just fine, but she had to add the last part of. "Besides, it was just a little nap."
He could practically see Pansy holding back an evil cackle, what a witch.
Granger must have sensed what the other girl was going to say because she quickly amended her statement. "Before you start insinuating secret romances, you will do well to note that I am currently touching you more than I touched him during the nap so chill, unless there is a secret romance between us that I do not know about."
Pansy had apparently picked up a new sense of humor because she dramatically said "Oh, but darling, how could you forget our nights in Paris?" She even stroked Hermione's hair in an overly lovey fashion.
Granger just snorted before grumbling. "You make a terrible pillow, at least Draco stayed quite." He was unsure if that was a compliment or not. He supposed in a backwards way it was, he would certainly be annoyed if his pillow started talking to him in the middle of the night.
"Perhaps, but I am much more comfortable." Pansy said arrogantly, he could not tell if she was teasing him or Granger. Probably him since he felt an unexplainable want for Granger to contradict her, he was Draco Malfoy, and Draco Malfoy was the best at everything. Or that is how he felt anyway.
"Well, duh. You are a girl, we are always more comfortable than guys. That's why they keep us around. Love has nothing to do with it." Granger said matter a factually from her spot against Pansy.
"You're just jealous you do not have a man to go home to." Pansy said smirking down at the top of Granger's head.
"Touche." was all she replied carelessly. Pansy sent him a look that said something, it is unknown if he understood it or chose to play stupid.
If Granger needed a man it was no concern of his. Though he certainly could not see anyone from the school being worth her time, they were either too young students or too old peers. Theoretically he was the only viable male who knew of her being a witch, unless she suddenly rejoined the magical community, which did not look likely.
He narrowed his eyes at the two witches across the way. He did not even want to be thinking about Granger, let alone her nonexistent love life.
Pansy must have gotten better at manipulating because that was indeed all he thought about after returning home.
Evil woman.
"Women are quite able to make friends with a man; but to preserve such a friendship - that no doubt requires the assistance of a slight physical antipathy" Friedrich Nietzsche